CSU tourism students team up with Red Truck Beer to create Travel Buddy IPA

What does tourism taste like? For Ian Schell, a senior majoring in natural resource tourism at Colorado State University, it tastes like a tropical IPA and its name is Travel Buddy.

“It’s a tropically forward beer with flavors of stone fruit, like peaches, apricots and mangos as well as citrus and a little bit of pine,” he explained. “It’s a typical IPA with a lot of aroma and flavor.”

Travel Buddy IPA was created by Schell and professional brewers at Red Truck Beer Co., which opened its Fort Collins location in August. Their efforts stem from a partnership between the student-led CSU Tourism Association, part of the Warner College of Natural Resources, and the Canadian brewer, based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Red Truck Beer will unveil Travel Buddy IPA on Wednesday, March 27, in conjunction with Experience Tourism Naturally, an on-campus event aimed at celebrating the Colorado tourism industry. The tapping event, which starts at 5 p.m. at the brewery, will serve as a fundraiser, with $1 for every pint sold going to the student tourism association. The brewery is located at the intersection of 9th Street and E. Lincoln Avenue in Fort Collins.

“The fundraising event will help us bolster our mission to bring the tourism industry to campus,” said Schell, who works at Red Truck Beer as a packaging operator, delivery driver and “beertender.” He has served as an officer for the student association for two years.

The CSU Tourism Association aims to educate, introduce and involve students in the local and regional tourism scene. Schell said the organization brings speakers to campus, hosts events and visits places such as the Poudre River or a brewery for a tour.

Experience Tourism Naturally

CSU hosts the first Experience Tourism Naturally event on March 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the west lawn of the Lory Student Center. It is free and open to the public.

The student-centric event will include free snacks to fuel your next adventure, live music and virtual reality downhill skiing and snowboarding simulations.

“It’s hard to find good outlets for fundraising,” Schell said. “Red Truck welcomed us with open arms. They saw that it’s mutually beneficial for a brewery to get involved in the community – to support education and student-led associations. They’re willing to support what they believe in, and it is part of the brand here at Red Truck to support going outside and traveling.”

CSU Tourism Association President Kate Minkewicz was at Red Truck on March 6 when the beer was being brewed by Josh Strobel, assistant brewer at Red Truck and a CSU alumnus (’17) with a degree in fermentation science and technology. He explained the steps in the beer-making process to her and other officers from the student organization.

Strobel said that he had fun working on this project. “Being able to work with the students in combining their passions with those of my own was an awesome way to help create an exciting product and event for both the student organization and us here at Red Truck,” he said.

Minkiewicz, who also is a senior majoring in natural resource tourism, said the fundraising event will help provide more unique opportunities for students.

“It will help open doors for us to give our members opportunities to meet more tourism industry professionals and gain more knowledge and hands-on experience outside of the classroom,” she said.

Learn more about the major in natural resource tourism, which is offered by the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. The department is part of the Warner College of Natural Resources at CSU.